Canadiens’ Fowler Makes Strong Case to Start in Playoffs over Dobes

An odd bounce prevented Montreal Canadiens goalie Jacob Fowler from earning the shutout, as the Habs earned a critical 4-1 road victory over the Nashville Predators on Saturday, their fourth in a row. While a playoff spot in an exceedingly difficult Atlantic Division is still far from guaranteed, the win helped the team make further inroads to securing one, as they surpassed their 91-point total in the standings from last year, with 10 games remaining.

All that to say, they’re in a good spot, with the new goaltending tandem of Fowler and Jakub Dobes standing tall recently. If there’s one thing Canadiens fans can be (relatively) certain about, it’s that the Habs will be going with them in the postseason, as Sam Montembeault sits, all due respect to him. Despite Montembeault’s stellar play in 2024-25, he just hasn’t been as reliable as the former two this season, in what is a what-have-you-done-for-me-lately type of league. It at least should be anyway, where players’ ice time reflect the quality of their level of play.

Fowler vs. Dobes

On Saturday, Fowler brought it put simply, improving his stat line to 7-5-2 with a 2.59 goals-against average (GAA) and .903 save percentage (SV%). While the goal in question, a tap-in on the part of Predators forward Zachary L’Heureux after the puck deflected off the boards behind Fowler to right in front of the goalie, ended the shutout bid, it’s worth noting the Canadiens, regardless of how impressive they’ve been this season, have only one blank sheet to their names… and it was signed by Fowler in a 4-0 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins on Dec. 20.